The country’s chronic housing shortage is set to persist and push property prices even higher while, at the same time, the Central Bank’s mortgage rules continue to restrict lending to ‘abnormally low’ levels despite a pick-up in April.

Retail sales were stronger than anticipated in April and continue to improve across the economy, analysts said yesterday.

Irish exporters eyeing the British market got some relief yesterday as sterling halted its slide against the euro for the first time in three days.

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Irish retail sales remained impressively strong amid a darkening European outlook last month with annual growth surging 11% in February.

The country recorded its largest ever trade surplus in the opening month of the year after an increase of €1.1bn on the December 2015 figure, but falling exports struck a note of warning as the year began.

House prices showed a surprisingly strong rise last month — jumping 2.3% nationally.

The economy continued to grow at a rapid pace in the second quarter of the year, CSO figures published yesterday showed.

The Government remains on course to significantly beat its annual tax target for 2015 with data showing tax revenue in the year to date is almost €1.4bn ahead of forecast.

The number of people signing on the Live Register climbed for the first time in more than two years last month, pointing towards slowing job creation.

The subdued level of bank lending in the economy is leaving the country short of the levels of credit required for long-term sustainable growth, a leading economist has warned.

House prices outside Dublin have out-performed the capital for the first time since the recession began, new official figures show.

Just months after being launched, UTV’s Irish television station could be offloaded along with the rest of the group’s TV assets.

Emirates National Oil Company has a 50% chance of succeeding in its bid to take full control of Irish-listed explorer Dragon Oil, according to UK analysts.

Aer Lingus’s continued focus on its long-haul routes allied with containing costs led the airline to a strong set of opening quarter results.

Further indications that the recovery in manufacturing is continuing apace in the early part of the year emerged yesterday as CSO data shed further light on the scale of increases in output.

The public finances have shown a quarterly surplus for the first time since before the financial crisis, cementing hopes that the Government will meet its budget deficit targets for the year.

Fresh doubts have been expressed over IAG’s pursuit of Aer Lingus after one of the Cabinet’s most senior ministers said the current offer is not sufficient for the Government to part with its stake.

Stephen Kavanagh’s appointment as Aer Lingus chief executive has been heralded as a positive development by analysts.

As many as 150 Aer Lingus staff across Dublin, Cork, and Shannon airports could be made redundant as a result of a voluntary severance scheme which was opened to employees earlier this week.

December saw a further annualised drop in household lending levels, with a 3.7% fall noted by the Central Bank.

The profitability of routes from Cork and Shannon airports to Heathrow is not strong enough at present to ensure their survival in the medium to long term, it has been claimed.

Building materials group CRH spent €190m on 21 separate acquisitions and investments last year as part of its portfolio refinement.

A persistent low inflation rate could lead to a rise in stealth taxes in next week’s budget, one economist has warned.

Irish banana producer Fyffes yesterday announced it had agreed to a new merger proposal with Chiquita which would see it receive a smaller share of the newly-combined company.

The growth in value of products manufactured by Irish firms outpaced the EU average by more than four times last year.

The unemployment rate could fall to 11% by the end of this year if live register declines continue apace.

The company taking over €250m of Bank of Ireland mortgages has applied to the Central Bank for full authorisation and intends to fully comply with all codes related to mortgage lending and arrears.

The manufacturing sector is expected to show modest growth this year, with January already having shown a return to monthly production increases.

The number of people on the live register has dropped below 400,000 for the first time since the collapse of the economy in 2009.

Only a marginal change if any is expected in annual wholesale prices this year.

The banks will not need further capital following the next round of EU-wide stress tests scheduled for 2014, according to Merrion Stockbrokers’s senior credit analyst, Ciaran Callaghan.

The construction sector could register its first annual rise in output this year since 2006.

The patent cliff continues to eat into exports as a number of high-profile drugs, including Lipitor and Viagra, left Irish export figures drooping.

The number of dole claimants fell to its lowest level since Aug 2009 last month, but economists still believe it will be a “number of years” before the unemployment rate returns to single digits.

The fiscal deficit at the end of May was €5.3bn, which is a €1.2bn improvement on the same period in 2012, according to the latest figures released by the Department of Finance.

March saw the lowest annual rate of inflation since Sept 2010 as consumer prices increased by 0.5% year-on-year, down from an annualised rise of 1.1% in February.

Ireland’s seasonally adjusted trade surplus slipped for the second consecutive month in January, with preliminary figures from the CSO showing a 5% fall to €2.9bn.

Lending to households fell 4% in the 12 months to the end of January following a 3.9% decrease in December, according to figures released by the Central Bank.

Industrial production and turnover for October has recovered marginally after a large drop off in output in September.

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Manufacturing production in Ireland is still expected to grow by between 2% and 3% this year, despite figures showing a marginal decline in August — the first fall in six months.

The economy is showing further signs of stabilisation with manufacturing output continuing its positive momentum.